Discover the InDesign CS5 Tools Panel

The Adobe InDesign Creative Suite 5 Tools panel is where you find tools to edit, manipulate, or select elements in your InDesign document. Simply click a tool on the Tools panel to select it.

If you decide that a single row of tools just isn’t for you, you can go back to an older version’s Tools panel by clicking the two arrows in the gray bar at the top of the Tools panel. If you want to relocate the Tools panel, click the silver bar at the top of the panel and drag to a new location.

With the tools in the Tools panel, you can

Create stunning new content on a page using drawing, frame, and text tools.

Select existing content on a page to move or edit.

View the page in different ways by moving (panning) and magnifying the page or spread.

Edit existing objects, such as shapes, lines, and text. Use the Selection tool to select existing objects so that you can change them.

When a tool has a small arrow next to the button’s icon, more tools are hiding behind it. When you click the tool and hold down the mouse button, a menu opens that shows you other available tools. While pressing the mouse button, move the cursor to the tool on the menu you want and release the mouse button after it’s highlighted.